Articles: chloroform-history.
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Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim · May 1991
Historical Article[The first operations performed with chloroform in Spain. More facts and new contributions].
Although the issue of clinical introduction of chloroform in Spain was rather controversial, we can assure now with no doubt that first news of its discovery reached our country by the end of November and beginning of December of 1847. The cities first receiving those first news were Cádiz, Madrid, Barcelona, and Santiago de Compostela; in the latter two cities, during the first days of December, the new anesthetic agent was already available and the first experiments on dogs were conducted in 19th Sunday and first clinical assays in Barcelona and in Santiago de Compostela, the first experiments in Spain, were carried out in December 20th. Spanish scientific and daily press, particularly, press of Barcelona and Madrid promptly reflected the events and informed their readers about the discovery of chloroform as anesthetic. Our research deals with some of these aspects and we believe that will contribute to clarify not fully studied points to date.
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It is widely accepted that Sir James Young Simpson discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and pioneered its application in surgery and midwifery. The name of Simpson is not infrequently also associated with the discovery of chloroform and of anaesthesia. Simpson certainly did not discover the substance chloroform or anaesthesia, there is doubt as to whether he discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform, and he may not have been the first person to administer chloroform anaesthesia to a patient. He did, however, play an important role in the introduction of chloroform anaesthesia particularly in midwifery and obstetrics.